A Boost for Family Businesses

When Cindy Ayloush joined the Center for Family Business
more than a decade ago, she was wrestling with what to do
with the family-owned Hydraflow.

“My mother and father had owned 80 percent of the
company. I was struggling with what we were going to do with
this business,” said the CEO and CFO of the company, which
manufactures aerospace and defense systems components.

Ayloush began attending the workshops offered by the
center and signed up two of her children for the Family
Business Dynamics course, where they learned there are best
practices in family business. She also benefited from seminars
that taught her about succession planning and the importance
of buy/sell agreements. The head of Hydraflow also met her
first consultant, who helped the company strike a balance with
the family’s third generation.

“I realized we could transition to a true family business
by getting my three children and my brother’s three children
involved,” said Ayloush. “It has helped my family and our nonfamily employees learn about family businesses. It has given
them a sense of security.”

Housed within Mihaylo College of Business and Economics,
the center was established in 1995 “to help family businesses
succeed and maintain their legacy,” said Ed Hart, the center’s
director. “Some family businesses are established to create
financial freedom for the family; others are established with
the idea of maintaining them for generations to come. We
identify what their needs are and try to help them through
workshops, peer-to-peer affinity groups, special events and our
annual Family Business Hall of Fame.”

Today, about 60 family businesses are members of the center.

Ten years ago, Ayloush and other supporters created the
Rick Muth Endowed Chair for Family Business, a professorship
specializing in family business instruction, research and special
projects. The $1.5 million endowment was the first of its kind
at Cal State Fullerton and is named after the CEO of ORCO
Block and Hardscape, Rick Muth, who led the campaign.

Tam Nguyen ’05 (M.B.A.), president of Advance Beauty
College, is interim chair and a second-generation family
business owner. He is teaching the Family Business Dynamics
course, which focuses on unique issues faced by family-owned
and -operated businesses. The course is open to juniors and
seniors at the university, as well as the public.

Nguyen was inspired to accept the position so he could
give back. “My family business has learned so much from
our colleagues and the speakers. We feel grateful to make a
difference in the community,” he explained, adding that he
has been able to meet “gold-standard businesses” through his
involvement with the Center for Family Business. “My hope
is to contribute to the next generation of family business
owners by sharing what I have learned.”

The center is important to the community, said Ayloush,
because “probably 80 percent of all businesses in California
are family-owned. We have formed common bonds because
we have the same problems and issues as other family business
owners. We have formed a network of friends that we can go
to for advice. The best advice we get in the center is from
other members.”

To contribute to the Center for Family Business, contact
Paul Stover, interim senior director of development for Mihaylo
College of Business and Economics, at 657-278-2857
or pstover@fullerton.edu.

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